Road Trip
by elsiecarson
Summary: Boyd and Grace go on a road trip to the northeast of England to interview a witness in their current cold case. Boyd hates road trips and Grace finds herself stuck in the car, on a long car ride, with a tired, frustrated Boyd. She begins to wish she never agreed to come with him.
1. On the Road Again

Boyd grumbles as he and Grace drive up the east coast towards Newcastle to interview a witness in their cold case. "I hate that we have to drive all this way for one witness." Boyd complains to Grace.

"You're a joy on a road trip, Boyd. You'll be thrilled if this one witness breaks the case though, won't you? Just drive. I'll find a radio station we can both agree on. As long as we stop for lunch along the way I'll be fine. Do you know where we're staying in Newcastle?" Grace asks trying to relax which isn't easy with Boyd around. She slips her shoes off and tucks her feet under her. She flicks through the radio stations trying to find one they're not going to argue over since they're arguing about everything else. She finds a quiet, classical music station and hopes that the music will calm Boyd down a little.

"Of course I'll be happy if we can solve the case, but I'm not holding out too much hope. We'll stop for lunch for sure. I have the name of the hotel in Newcastle but I have never stayed there so I don't know what to expect when we get there. It had good recommendations so I figured it was a good option." Boyd tries to answer all of Grace's concerns. He's also trying to control his emotions. Grace looks beautiful and relaxed as usual. "This music is nice, Grace. Good choice."

"Did I just get a compliment from you, Boyd? That's pretty rare. You don't usually give unqualified compliments." Grace smirks at Boyd. "Are you alright, Boyd? You seem out of sorts."

"I hate long road trips like this. The company is nice though. You're better to take on a road trip than Spence. Spence snores too. I can honestly say that I won't miss that factor." Boyd says cheekily.

"I'll have to tell Spence about that when we get back to the unit." Grace teases Boyd.

"Oh God, Grace please don't tell Spence what I said. I only told you because I thought you would think it was funny and because I thought you wouldn't tell Spence. I mean, come on, we all tease Spence." Boyd is immediately worried about what Grace will tell Spence.

"Alright, I won't tell Spence what you said. I wonder what you, Mel, Frankie, and Spence talk about when I'm not around. What do you say about me?" Grace asks as she leans her head against the headrest.

"Nothing, Grace. If we tease about you we always do it when you're around." Boyd lies through his teeth.

"I don't believe that for a second, but that's a very sweet gesture. I know you're trying to protect me." Grace smiles sweetly.

"I'll always protect you, Grace; you know that. I wouldn't let anyone say anything really nasty about you anyway, well, except me. My team will always be polite to you. We do like to tease anyone though, you know that. We don't mean anything by it." Boyd is being remarkably open with Grace.

"That is very gallant of you, Boyd. Unexpected, but gallant." Grace says cheekily.

"I'm supposed to do the unexpected, Grace. If I did what was expected all the time you'd be bored. I wouldn't want you to be bored." Boyd teases Grace. He loves to tease her. Grace chuckles.


	2. Snacks on the Go

Grace reaches behind Boyd's seat and picks up the small cooler she packed with snacks and drinks. "Do you want to share a soda, Boyd? I can open one and open a bag of crisps for us."

"Not if it means we're not stopping for lunch." Boyd grumbles.

"We're stopping for lunch. If we don't either I'll hit you for being a prat or we'll have a blazing argument." Grace says firmly.

"Sure, Grace. That sounds great. I could use a snack. What kind of crisps do you have?" Boyd asks glancing at Grace and then looking back at the road.

"We've got cheese and onion or sea salt and cracked pepper." Grace tells Boyd.

"Urgh, cheese and onion. I'll have the sea salt and cracked pepper." Boyd grimaces when he hears his first flavour choice. He's never liked cheese and onion crisps.

Grace is surprised Boyd picked one of the two flavours at all. He tends to be obstinate about everything when he's grumpy. Grace smirks at Boyd's facial expression. She grabs the bag of crisps from behind her seat. She carefully opens the bag so the crisps don't go all over the car. She sets the bag down in her lap, puts the cooler back in the back seat and opens a bottle of pop. She nudges Boyd's elbow and passes him the bottle.

"What the hell is this?" Boyd asks looking sceptically at the bright orange liquid.

"Fanta orange. It's my favourite soda. It's not really sweet." Grace tells Boyd.

Boyd sips the liquid tentatively, the colour makes him nervous, and then hands Grace the bottle back. "It's not too bad. You're right; it's not too sweet. I'm glad you're coming with me, Grace. I hate road trips."

"I don't mind, Boyd. You do tend to be cranky on long trips though. Do you want a soda with some caffeine in it?" Grace asks kindly. She's trying to be as accomodating as possible with him.

"No, I'll get a coffee when we stop for lunch. I'll be okay for another hour or so. The consideration is highly appreciated though, Grace." Boyd admits to the woman sitting next to him. He knows he drives Grace crazy.

"Everybody deserves to have someone care about them, Boyd, even you. You don't care for yourself so someone else has to do it for you." Grace says quietly. She sips the Fanta orange and munches on some of the crisps.

Boyd reaches into the bag of crisps and grabs a couple. He pops them into his mouth and crunches them. "Those are really nice actually." Boyd glances down to see where Grace put the soda. He picks up the soda and sips it.


End file.
